Picture Day
by MellosChocolate
Summary: A short one-shot fanfiction about Mello and Matt's friendship in the orphanage!


"Could Mr. Buckley's class please report to the gymnasium for Picture Day?"

Chatting erupted from the class, who were all too pleased that their history lesson was interrupted. Some girls in the back squealed because they needed to get ready, and began pleading for five minutes in the bathroom. Mr. Buckley looked rather disgruntled that his briefing on the fall of the Roman Empire was stopped. "Line up in an orderly fashion!" he said sternly. Sounds of chairs scraping filled the air as the children got up and formed a line.

"Matt, Mello, get up! You're not skipping Picture Day again, got it?" said Mr. Buckley. A loud sigh came from the back of the room, and the two boys got up. "I hate picture day," muttered Mello. He was tall and lean, with strawberry blonde hair and a black sweater. He took a bite out of his chocolate bar. The boy next to him grinned. "At least we get to miss the rest of class." He was shorter, with scruffy red hair and a striped shirt. He was wearing olive tinted goggles over his eyes. Mello stared moodily at his chocolate bar. "I guess so."

"Near, this doesn't exclude you!" Mr. Buckley said. He sounded exasperated. The boy at the back of the room slowly stood up; carefully putting the dice he had stacked on top of each other into a small pouch. He was small, with pale skin and white hair. His eyes were large and thoughtful. Near made his way to the back of the line. Mello scowled. "Come on, Matt. I don't want to stand _here_ in the line." Matt followed Mello to the middle of the line, where he budged past two girls who were chatting animatedly. "What's the big deal?" Matt said cautiously. "I don't want to stand next to _Near_." Mello said that last word dripping with hatred. Matt said nothing. Mello never shut up about Near. He pulled out his DS, despite knowing he wouldn't have long to play it.

They arrived in the gym. A pale blue backdrop was there, along with a balding man standing next to a large camera. He looked over and clapped his hands once. "Is this the grade eight class? Perfect. I'm going to call your names alphabetically, alright?" He spoke as if he were talking to four years old. Mello and Matt went to sit on a bench in the corner as Linda Aerin trotted up to get her picture taken. Mello reached into his pocket for a chocolate bar, and then realized there were no more. He groaned, leaning back against the wall and playing with his hands. Matt was engrossed in his game. Bored, Mello looked over his shoulder, but wasn't interested. "I don't know what you see in those games," he said. Matt didn't reply. "Matt!" Mello snapped. "I heard you," Matt said, not taking his eyes off the game. "Well then, why didn't you reply?" "I'm almost on the boss level! I need to stay 100% focused." Mello rolled his eyes as Matt furiously pressed buttons. His eyes fell to Near in the corner, making his amused smile disappear instantly.

Near was restacking his dice into a tower almost as tall as he was. Every dice piece was painstakingly fitted onto each other. It infuriated Mello, and he didn't even know why. He didn't take his eyes off Near for fifteen minutes, and was startled when someone tapped him on the shoulder. "What?" he snapped. It was the girl with the braces – what was her name anyway? "You're up for your picture now," she said, before skipping away to join her friends. Mello stood up and headed over to the blue wall. "How you doing Mello?" asked the bald photographer. "Fine, I guess," Mello replied nonchalantly. "Great, that's great. Now stand right over here. Face the camera." Mello did, feeling uncomfortable in front of the camera. "Smile, would you?" Mello sighed, but tried to think of good memories. He decided on the lunchtime with Matt. Ever since Matt came to Wammy's House he didn't eat lunch alone. It was nice. The thought alone provoked a small smile, and the camera flashed.

"Alrighty then, thanks Mello! Oh, and can you tell 'Matt' to come up for his picture now?" Mello nodded and walked back to Matt, whose face was illuminated by the game. He nudged him on the shoulder. "You're up." Matt groaned. "Seriously? I'm so close!" Mello glared at him. "Jeez, Matt, get up." Matt snapped his DS shut. "This'll be so fun," he said sarcastically. Mello grinned.

"Are you Matt? How are you?" asked the photographer cheerfully. Matt shrugged. "Good." "Great to hear! Can you take your goggles off for me?" Matt scowled, but put them on the top of his head. The photographer told Matt where to stand. "Now smile!" Matt thought of a memory. He decided on the day when Wammy's House had a carnival. The carnival itself was pretty lame, but Near didn't come and so Mello focused his attention on Matt all day. It was really fun. Matt grinned at the memory, and the shutter sounded.

Matt made his way back to the bench, where Mello was looking bored. He visibly lightened up when he saw Matt, and stood up. "Hey, can we ditch this place now? No one will even notice and I want chocolate." Matt grinned. "Sure!" he said happily. The two friends walked out of the back gym door, playfully teasing each other and talking.


End file.
